Welcome 2011! I am very excited for what this new year will bring. I hope everyone had a great NYE, no matter how you chose to ring it in. Ours was pretty low key, but I’ll get to that in a minute.

This post is filled with shots from the last week of 2010. Here is how Ryan and I spent some of our time off.

Just before Christmas we went to a Pizzeria. I ordered a veggie sub. First of all, I really expected it to be like a Subway sub, where the veggie is just like salad on a roll. Second, I ordered a small. You can imagine I was surprised and shocked to find what was like a cheese steak, minus the steak, and this size.

This was peppers, mushrooms, onions and cheese, and I will say it was really good and I will definitely go back for this again. But, I was still thinking they messed up and gave me a large.

Then they brought out Ryan’s sandwich and I had to laugh. I guess mine was the small, because Ryan ordered the large. This thing is HUGE!!!

This time of year is great for strolling around the city. These pictures are off the streets in Angra do Heroismo, the capital of the island, and a UNESCO world heritage site. Think European city, lots of hills, on the ocean, and the oldest cobblestone streets…and there you have Angra.

The weather has been nice, so it was perfect to walk along the beach.

The city square has their Christmas display up.

This gives you an idea of the architecture.

On Christmas, Ryan gave me some more Hanukkah presents. Yes, my holiday was over, but I give him things on Hanukkah so it is not a one sided gift giving. Also, some of the things he bought me did not get to the island by Hanukkah.

Our next door neighbors gave us a bottle of port wrapped in this cute wine bottle cover.

I made sure to walk around advertising nutrition messages. Remember, fiber is your friend.

In case you don’t know this, the typical Jewish way to spend Christmas is to go out for Chinese food and go to the movies. Sad but true, and while stereotypical to say all Jewish people do this, most of my friend’s FB status updates for the day said things like Chinese and movies. So, to not generalize too much, maybe I will say that this is typical tradition for the Jewish people I know, myself included. Well, on the island, that is not really how it works since those things are not open here. The island is almost 100% Catholic locally, and even the Chinese restaurant was closed.

So, the day after Christmas, when many things were still closed, Ryan and I enjoyed a Chinese meal.

Ryan started with an egg roll.

I happily enjoyed this bowl of mushroom and crab soup.

Ryan had chicken and noodles.

I had the sweet and sour shrimp, which is the same thing I ordered the last time we ate here.

The Chinese was good, but different from American Chinese, and even Chinese food in China. As always, I think they need to adjust not only for the palates of the clientele, but adjust to the local ingredients and what is available too.

On NYE day, the weather was extremely beautiful. I could not resist heading to Praia, the town near me, and strolling by the beach. I stopped in to one of my favorite cafes for a veggie burger.

See, there is a veggie patty under the egg. It is more like a veggie pancake, fried, but it is really good and the only way they do veggie burgers here locally.

And now, for the moment you have all been waiting for…the fireworks! There was low cloud cover down in Praia, which made it hard to see when the fireworks went up into the clouds. We did spot these fireworks going off over the base. We only live a few miles away off base so we could still see them.

Then, our neighbor 2 doors down set some off in their backyard, which managed go off just above our house.

Although it really scared the dog, it was neat to get to see some so close.

Happy New Year everyone!!!

Stay tuned for more pics from the last week of 2010, plus my new year’s goals for 2011.

To see my post from last NYE, CLICK HERE and read my tips for a Terrific 2010…which can also be applied to 2011.

To see my post from last New Year’s Day, CLICK HERE and see beautiful shots of rainbows and waterfalls that we found while driving around the island.

QUESTIONS: How did you celebrate the start of 2011? What was your favorite part of 2010? What are you most looking forward to in 2011?

I used to date a jewish guy in high school and for the three years we were together I can always remember his family going to Chinese on Christmas! I did go with them one year and I just thought it was hilarious. The entire restaurant was filled with jewish families from the area (I went to school in a mostly jewish neighborhood). So yes, it's true, Chinese and movies is the way to spend Christmas! I love it.